Denise Abbott
Denise Olivia Abbott was a character on the long-running series, Harpers Falls. She was played by the late actress, Dixie Carter, best known for her roles of Assistant District Attorney Brandy Henderson on the Edge of Night (she asked that Denise's middle name be Olivia, for her role of Brandy, whose real first name was Olivia), the snooty and hilariously overbearing socialite Carlotta Beck on Filthy Rich, feisty aerobics instructor Maggie McKinney Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes and her best known role, that of hilariously bombastic interior designer, Julia "The Terminator" Sugarbaker on Designing Women. When Ms. Carter died in 2010, the character was so identified with Dixie that the character had died off-screen as well, and so, the role of her niece Camilla Abbott, which is currently played by Dixie's real-life daughter, Ginna, was created. The often strong-willed and strong opinioned Denise was one of Harpers Falls' leading attorneys, and had been the long-time attorney of record of the Harper family. Although she loved being an attorney, she could have gladly given up being the Harper family attorney (a role she had inherited from her late father) to be a partner in a major law firm. However, she was content with being the Harpers' personal attorney. However, a lot of people did not know that Denise was with a man named Arvin Stewart, when she had begun her career as an attorney. She had given birth to a daughter she had with him, Joyce Anne. For her safety, Joyce Anne had lived with her uncle Matt, for many years. Denise's brother, Matthew, had had some issues of his own, especially him being the father of Catherine Watkins Haller who had, up until that time, been thought to have been the daughter of Robert Watkins. The secret destroyed three families in the process, the Watkinses, the Abbotts and the Wentzels. As a result of the vicious lie, Catherine never spoke to her mother, Allison again, even up until her death; Robert divorced Allison over it; his sister, Victoria Jensen slapped her; and upon hearing the news, Allison's granddaughter, Jacqueline Haller, was so incensed with Allison that she never wanted to speak to her again, and neither did Jacqueline's other aunt, Lyla Ann Amherst. Denise never knew about the connections she had with Catherine and Lyla Ann. After a long career as an attorney, Denise had retired and moved to Washington, DC, where Matthew lived, and moved in with him. (Her other brother, William was deceased, and she talked with her sister, Marge Atherton) The reason she left Boston was because she was dying of cancer. She died peacefully at Georgetown University Hospital. Taking over her law practice in Harpers Falls was her niece, Camilla Griswold (William was her father), who ran it smoothly until she sold it. She became a prosecutor and is now back in Boston, with her second husband, John Wilkins, who Denise would have liked. Despite John's death, Camilla remains in Boston, and the Abbotts have maintained a strong presence. Category:Characters Category:Fictional attorneys Category:Abbott family